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build My oWn heRo

RATIONALE FOR ADVENTUREThrough this adventure, Webelos Scouts will discover what being a “hero” means to them as well as the community they live in. Boys will meet local heroes and learn about everyday heroism around the world. Each Scout will also imagine his own superhero and create a story of how that hero helps others.

TAKEAWAYS FOR CUB SCOUTS• Heroes can be found anywhere and are usually people just like us.

• Following the 12 points of the Scout Law can help us face challenges and be heroes in our own communities.

• A Scout is brave. COMPASS

CHARACTER

COMPASS

CHARACTER

COMPASS

CHARACTER

COMPASS

CHARACTER

ADVENTURE REQUIREMENTSDo all of these:

1. Discover what it means to be a hero. Invite a local hero to meet with your den.

2. Identify how citizens can be heroes in their communities.

3. Recognize a hero in your community by presenting him or her with a “My Hero Award.”

4. Learn about a real-life hero from another part of the world who has helped make the world a better place.

5. Learn about a Scout hero.

6. Create your own superhero.

NOTES TO DEN LEADER

Meeting 3 will be an outing to a local veterans group, library, museum, or newspaper office to meet or learn about heroes in the community. In advance of the outing, the leader will need to make arrangements with the outing location and confirm the outing plan with families, including transportation and any additional items they need to bring. Make sure a tour and activity plan has been submitted, if required, and activity consent forms are distributed, signed, and collected.

Before starting this adventure, have a brainstorming session with the Webelos Scouts to choose at least one local hero they can invite to the first meeting. Possible guests include teachers, doctors, nurses, police officers, firefighters, servicemen, and servicewomen. Once the Scouts make their choice, they should write down a few questions to ask (e.g., if a guest was involved in Scouting as a youth, ask how it influenced his life). Review the questions before the meeting to ensure all are appropriate, and write a brief introduction once you know a guest is coming. Have the Webelos sign thank-you cards to be presented after the meeting.

See the Appendix for optional den meeting activities, including openings, gatherings, and closings.

Webelos Handbook, page 306

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MeetinG 1 PlAnPREPARATION AND MATERIALS NEEDED• U.S. and den flags

• Signed thank-you notes

• Pictures of heroes and blank sheets of paper for the Gathering activity

• Invite guests from the list compiled at the brainstorming session from a prior meeting. Be sure to have the Scouts’ questions on hand and an introduction for each guest (Activity 1).

• Items for the Superpowers Charade game (Activity 2): Slips of paper with a different superpower written on each, and blank sheets for Scouts to fill out their guesses. Have enough superpowers selected so each Scout can act one out.

• Items for the Scout Law Hero game (Activity 3): Large poster board with the 12 points of the Scout Law written in a circle and a cardboard spinner attached to the center

GATHERING• Post pictures of heroes around the room before the meeting. As each Scout arrives, give him a sheet

of paper to write down what he believes makes each one a hero. (Example: “Police officers help people who are at risk of being hurt.”)

• Collect the papers for use in Activity 1.

OPENING• Conduct a flag ceremony of your choosing that includes the Pledge of Allegiance and, as appropri-

ate, the Scout Oath and Scout Law.

TALK TIME• Carry out business items for the den.

• Allow time for sharing among Webelos Scouts.

• Introduce the Build My Own Hero adventure to the den. Build interest by describing the goals of the adventure and some of the activities that are planned.

• Remind the Scouts that they are surrounded by heroes every day. Sometimes heroes do big things while others do small things. We can discover who these heroes are if we watch and observe what they do. Have the Scouts decide on three people they admire and interact with daily or at least several times a week. They will watch the three people during the next week to identify how average citizens can be heroes (requirement 2). At Meeting 2 they will choose one of those heroes and create a “My Hero Award” for him or her (requirement 3).

• Introduce the idea of discovering heroes in the world. Let Scouts know of the Do-at-Home projects for next week (requirement 4).

ACTIVITIES

◆Activity 1: Guest Speaker (Requirement 1)• Select a Scout to introduce a local hero (or heroes). Have everyone listen carefully to the presenta-

tion. Then take a few minutes for guests and Scouts to ask questions of each other.

• Discuss with each guest what it means to be a hero. If the guest or the guest’s family was involved in Scouting, explore how the 12 points of the Scout Law helped shape his or her life. Do the answers relate to things the boys came up with during the Gathering activity?

• Show appreciation for the guest(s) with a den cheer or yell, and present thank-you notes.

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◆Activity 2: Superpowers Charade Game• Put the slips of paper you prepared in a basket or hat, and have each Scout pick one but not reveal it

to the rest of the den.

• In turn, Scouts will stand up and express their superpower in gestures and movements, without speaking a word. Hand out sheets of paper for each boy to guess the superpowers; then reveal the answers after all guesses have been made.

◆Activity 3: Scout Law Hero Game• This game will reinforce the discussions in Activity 1 as Webelos Scouts review the meaning of the

12 points of the Scout Law. Draw a large circle on poster board and divide it into 12 sections. Write in the spaces “Trustworthy,” “Loyal,” “Helpful,” “Friendly,” “Courteous,” “Kind,” “Obedient,” “Cheerful,” “Thrifty,” “Brave,” “Clean,” and “Reverent.”

• Attach a cardboard spinner. Scouts take turns spinning it and thinking of a person who has the characteristic the spinner lands on. They can share with the group who they thought of and why. Each Scout should get at least two turns.

CLOSING• Gather the Scouts in a circle and have each boy comment on what the guest(s) shared with them.

Ask if what they heard changed their definition of a hero in some way.

• Recite the Scout Law.

Do-at-Home Project Reminder:Remind each Scout to make his observations, keep notes, and privately select one hero so he can create a “My Hero Award” next week (requirements 2 and 3). He should keep this a secret from the recipient until the award is ready to give. If he can’t decide on just one person, it’s all

right to give more than one award.

Each boy should also look up information on a real-life hero from another country who made a difference in the world and be ready to share what he learned at the next meeting (requirement 4).

AFTER THE MEETING• Serve refreshments, if desired.

• Work together to clean up the meeting place.

• Record completion of requirement 1.

MeetinG 2 PlAnPREPARATION AND MATERIALS NEEDED• U.S. and den flags

• World map with pins to mark locations, or a globe with sticky notes

• Craft supplies for each Scout to make a “My Hero Award”

• “Scouts in Action” article clipped from Boys’ Life magazine

• Items for creating a superhero:

— Poster board or large roll of paper to draw a Scout’s outline

— Poster board listing the 12 points of the Scout Law

— Markers, paints, art supplies

• Prepare thank-you notes to be signed in advance for anyone who will be helping with the outing (Meeting 3).

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GATHERING• Set up a globe or post a world map so each Scout can mark the location of the international hero he

researched for requirement 4.

OPENING• Conduct a flag ceremony of your choosing that includes the Pledge of Allegiance and, as appropriate,

the Scout Oath and Scout Law.

• As the denner calls roll, have each Scout name a trait or job that he thinks of when he hears the word “hero.”

TALK TIME (REQUIREMENTS 2 AND 4)• Carry out business items for the den.

• Allow time for sharing among Webelos Scouts.

• Have each Scout tell which hero from another country he chose from the at-home assignment, and how that person helped make the world a better place.

• Each Scout should also share about the one or more individuals he chose for his My Hero Award. What actions stood out that helped him make the choice? How did those observations expand his concept of what makes a hero?

• Discuss the upcoming den outing (Meeting 3). Scouts will visit a library, museum, newspaper, or local veterans group to learn about other real-life heroes.

ACTIVITIES

◆Activity 1: My Own Hero Award (Requirement 3) • The boys will now create their awards using supplies they brought or that you collected. The award

may be anything from a certificate to a trophy, plaque, or leatherwork.

• Consider inviting the award recipients to a den or pack meeting to receive the honor; Scouts could make formal invitations for that event. If any recipient cannot attend, the Scout should visit him or her to present the honor.

◆Activity 2: Create a Superhero (Requirement 6)• This can be done individually, as several small groups, or as a den. Scouts will need to decide what

traits their superhero will have. Record those traits alongside the poster you created showing the 12 points of the Scout Law and discuss the connections between the two.

• Scouts can draw outlines of each other; then each boy writes inside his outline the traits that he feels are important in a hero. Or the den may create a single superhero and have each Scout write in one or two traits. Also, if Scouts want to draw and color a superhero uniform inside the outline, the traits may be written around it.

• Finish with a game: One Scout starts a story about the superhero. Each boy in turn adds to that story until everyone has had a chance to contribute. If possible, once the story is developed, record a video of the den telling their story to share at the pack meeting.

CLOSING (REQUIREMENT 5)• Share the “Scouts in Action” story that you clipped from Boys’ Life. Explain that articles in this series

tell stories of real heroes who are Scouts, just like them.

• Review details for the upcoming outing in Meeting 3. Make sure all Scouts and their families know the plans.

AFTER THE MEETING• Serve refreshments, if desired.

• Work together to clean up the meeting place.

• Record completion of requirements 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.

• Have Scouts sign their thank-you notes for the outing.

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MeetinG 3 PlAn (den outing)PREPARATION AND MATERIALS NEEDED• Make arrangements at least a month in advance with representatives at the outing location. Share

with them what the den has been doing in this adventure, and confirm that someone will be available during the outing to help the Webelos Scouts learn about local heroes.

• Confirm that a tour and activity plan has been submitted, if required, and that transportation to and from the location is in place. Secure signed activity consent forms.

• Unit den leader should have in possession (if required by local council practices) the tour and activity plan and a copy of the Guide to Safe Scouting.

• Bring the signed thank-you notes for those who help.

• Pack some refreshments for after the outing, if desired and appropriate.

• Print out the Merit Badge Match Game (see Meeting 3 Resources) for the Gathering (one copy per Scout).

• Bring copies of local newspapers for the Good News Game (Activity 2, if time allows).

GATHERING• While waiting for everyone to arrive, have Scouts play the Merit Badge Match Game, matching each

badge to its subject.

OPENING• Conduct a flag ceremony of your choosing that includes the Pledge of Allegiance and, as appropriate,

the Scout Oath and Scout Law.

TALK TIME• Carry out business items for the den.

• Allow time for sharing among Webelos Scouts.

ACTIVITIES

◆Activity 1: Discovering Local Heroes• Introduce Scouts to the tour guide or other representative at the location. If you are visiting a library

or newspaper office, ask this person to help the Scouts find information regarding local heroes.

• After the visit, talk about which points of the Scout Law each hero exhibits. How were these people recognized by their communities (or beyond), and what did they have to say about their status as “heroes”? Were they involved in Scouting as youth? Are their names displayed anywhere in the community?

◆Activity 2: Good News Game• If time allows, distribute the newspapers you collected and ask Scouts to look through them, pointing out

each type of heroism they see in the articles. These heroes may be adults or children, professionals or volunteers—or even pets and police dogs. Each boy who finds an article calls out, “Good News!” Then he describes the hero, and the game moves on.

• When the game is finished, cut out the articles so the Scouts can create a “Good News” display for the next pack meeting, where they may also want to show the superhero story video they recorded at Meeting 2.

• This game can be played as the boys sit around a table. If you are in a library, they can silently raise their hands rather than calling out.

CLOSING• Present thank-you notes to all who helped with the outing.

• Have den members stand in a circle and pass around the Scout handclasp until it reaches the boy who started it. As each Scout receives the handclasp, he silently makes a wish and pledges to do his best.

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AFTER THE MEETING• Serve refreshments, if desired and appropriate.

• Work together to clean up before leaving the meeting place.

MeetinG 3 ResouRCesGATHERING: MERIT BADGE MATCH GAMEPlay this match game to emphasize the opportunities available to boys as they continue in Scouting. Link each picture of a merit badge to its subject, and write the correct number in the box.

a. g.

b. h.

c. i.

d. j.

e. k.

f. l.

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1. Engineering

2. Nature

3. Electricity

4. Landscape Architecture

5. Canoeing

6. American Business

7. Fish and Wildlife Management

8. American Labor

9. Nuclear Science

10. Painting

11. Astronomy

12. Fly-Fishing

Upon completion of the Build My Own Hero adventure, your Webelos Scouts will have earned the adventure pin shown here. Make sure they are recognized for their completion by presenting the adventure pins, to be worn on their uniforms, as soon as possible according to your pack’s tradition.

Answer Keya. American Laborb. American Businessc. Astronomyd. Engineeringe. Fish and Wildlife Managementf. Landscape Architectureg. Nuclear Scienceh. Electricityi. Paintingj. Fly-Fishingk. Canoeingl. Nature

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